Charlie Sheen says he is HIV-positive; has been blackmailed NEW YORK — Former "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen has HIV. In an interview Tuesday on NBC's "Today," the 50-year-old actor said he tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS about four years ago, but that, thanks to a rigorous drug regimen, he's healthy. When asked by co-host Matt Lauer if he had transmitted the disease to others, he declared, "Impossible. Impossible," and insisted he had informed every sexual partner of his condit...

Book looks at 50 ‘Cats on the Job’LOS ANGELES — Dogs work. Cats sleep, purr and preen. At least that is what dog people would have you believe. Author Lisa Rogak set out to discover what cats really spend their time doing. The result is her book called “Cats on the Job.” She found that dogs do what you want, but cats do what they want. Dogs will follow your job description, cats create their own. That’s why so many cat jobs are one-of-a-kind. Basically, with dogs, you get the ...

Woman fighting fine for posting pro-cop signA Pennsylvania woman is fighting possible $500 daily fines for posting a handmade crime watch sign in her window warning drug dealers to stay away. Canonsburg Mayor Bob Kipp said Cindy Davis received the notice of having a “non-confirming sign in a residential area” after at least one person complained the sign may be making it harder for neighbors to sell their property. The (Washington) Observer-Reporter reported the sign said, “Thank you CB...

Minimum wage push continuesWASHINGTON — The first question in Tuesday’s GOP presidential debate — whether the minimum wage should go to $15 an hour — was the starkest evidence yet that U.S. workers have managed to thrust the issue of pay onto the presidential campaign agenda. More than six years after the Great Recession ended, weak wage gains have helped fuel movements such as the “Fight for $15,” whose supporters demonstrated outside the GOP debate in Milwaukee. Their...

Campbell Soup Co. recalling 355,000 cans of SpaghettiOsNEW YORK — Campbell Soup is recalling 355,000 cans of SpaghettiOs Original in the U.S. due to a possible choking hazard. Pieces of red plastic, part of the can’s lining, were found in a small number of the 14.2 ounce cans. Campbell Soup Co. announced the recall after receiving complaints. It said that the plastic is food grade and not harmful if swallowed. The cans included in the recall have a date of February 22, 2017, that is stamped on the...

Flap over Starbucks cup draws scrutinyIn the beginning, there was a paper coffee cup — bright red on top, shading to a darker cranberry below. That much seems beyond doubt. But the brew-haha of supposed outrage that has spilled from it since the Starbucks coffee chain served up what looked, at first glance, like a seasonal throwaway, is increasingly hard to figure. A week ago, a self-described evangelist named Joshua Feuerstein, who lives outside Phoenix, posted a video on Faceboo...

Wal-Mart syncs Black Friday dealsNEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores says it is offering most of the same Black Friday “doorbuster” deals online and in stores for the first time and giving online shoppers an early jump on the sales. The world’s largest retailer is heading into the holiday season with a turnaround plan after being battered by the economy and tough competition. Wal-Mart’s U.S. CEO Greg Foran is spearheading a major overhaul of the stores that includes basics like making...

800-pound alligator found at Houston-area shopping center SUGAR LAND, Texas — An alligator dubbed Godzilla who tips the scales at more than 800 pounds is being taken to a gator reserve to live out its days, after being found wandering outside a Houston-area shopping center. Godzilla was discovered Saturday by people arriving for work at the center in Sugar Land. It's believed he wandered over to the plaza from a nearby creek. Christy Kroboth is licensed by the state as a "nuisance alligator trapper."...

Bush says he'd kill 'baby Hitler' if he could travel in time DES MOINES, Iowa — Presidential candidate Jeb Bush says he once got an email asking if he would go back in time, if it were possible, and kill the baby Adolf Hitler. "It said, 'If you could go back in time and kill baby Hitler, would you? I need to know,'" Bush told a Huffington Post reporter on the Bush campaign bus in New Hampshire last week. Bush's answer, according to the video clip: "Hell, yeah, I would. Look, you gotta step up man." Bush...

Most poultry farms affected by bird flu can restockDES MOINES, Iowa — Most commercial chicken and turkey farms that were infected by the bird flu have been cleared to restock, agriculture officials said Friday, but scientists still will keep a close eye on migrating birds and test thousands to see if the virus is present. No new cases have been reported since June 17 when the last Iowa farm said chickens were dying from the H5N2 virus. However, wild birds’ southern migration has been delayed b...

Parents advised to ‘Kik’ out dangerous phone applicationsLITTLE ROCK — Young people are always looking for the newest apps to download on their mobile phones. But some of these apps allow children and teens to hide information from parents or allow anonymous group chats, both of which can be dangerous. One app that is popular with Arkansas teens is called Kik. The app, however, raises concerns for parents. The Kik app has more than 240 million registered users and reports that 40 percent of U.S. tee...

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FOR THE COURIER / SubmittedThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Attorney: Ohio man who took boy from mom knew he’d be caughtCLEVELAND — The man accused of taking his 5-year-old son from the Alabama home of the boy’s mother in 2002 and creating new identities for both of them knew he’d be caught someday, the man’s attorney said Friday. Bobby Hernandez, 53, came to Cleveland and built a new life for himself and his son and began calling himself Jonathan Mangina. His son, now 18, was known as Jay or J.J., a neighbor in Cleveland said. The ruse fell apart when the teen...

Closed hearing held in slaying of Texarkana square dancerTEXARKANA, Ark. — A special judge has held a closed hearing on a motion in the capital murder trial of a woman charged with killing a fellow member of a square dance club. The Texarkana Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1QaNmtx ) that Judge Randy Wright closed the Friday hearing at the request of attorneys for Virginia Ann Hyatt. Hyatt is charged with killing Patti Wheelington because she allegedly believed Wheelington was responsible for the end...

Coast Guard suspends search for cruise ship passengerMIAMI — The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a man who jumped onto a lifeboat on the side of a cruise ship before he plunged into the ocean. In a statement Saturday, officials said an airplane and helicopter crews had searched an area covering 931 square nautical miles northeast of Mayaguana, Bahamas. Fellow passengers watched in horror Friday as the man clung to the lifeboat for more than a minute. It wasn't clear why the man jumped t...

Louisiana police arrest 2 officers in boy’s deathNEW ORLEANS — Two Louisiana law enforcement officers remained jailed Saturday while their colleagues tried to sort out the details that led to the death of a 6-year-old and the severe wounding of his father in a hail of gunfire. Derrick Stafford, 32, of Mansura, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, of Marksville, each faced charges of second-degree murder and second-degree murder. They were being held in the Avoyelles Parish jail. The dead child was...

Jim Ed Brown and the Browns inducted into the Country Music Hall of FameNASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two groundbreaking vocal groups with drastically different styles joined a fabled studio session musician as the newest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame during a star-studded, emotional Medallion Ceremony on Oct. 25. Considered country music’s most prestigious event, the ceremony is the official induction of new Hall of Fame members. Jim Ed Brown and the Browns, the Oak Ridge Boys and studio session great Grady ...

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FOR THE COURIER / SubmittedThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Sorting sexting offenders from victims at school will take timeDENVER — It could take a month to sort the offenders from the victims in a widespread sexting case at a Colorado high school, and then authorities plan to file charges only if “absolutely necessary,” a prosecutor said. An unspecified number of Canon City High School students have been suspended over the exchange of hundreds of explicit photos of students as young as eighth-graders. An investigation began Monday after some people contacted scho...

Police: Mother kills son, herself at hospitalMESA, Ariz. — A mother of a patient at a suburban Phoenix children’s hospital took her son’s life before taking her own, police said Saturday. Mesa police spokesman Steve Berry said nurses at Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa found the woman and her 5-year-old child dead inside the child’s room while conducting a 2 a.m. bed check. “Every two hours they do a check,” Berry said. “They were seen alive and fine at midnight and then found at...

After vet felled by PTSD, service dog Honor aids family nowCLYDE, N.C. — Part of the Labrador retriever’s training was to sense when the demons of war had invaded Wade Baker’s dreams. “I woke up with Honor standing on my chest, licking my face,” the Gulf War veteran once told an interviewer. He tried to push his service dog away, but Honor persisted. “He was stopping the nightmare for me,” Baker said. And so, when he saw his master lying in the flag-draped casket, Honor pushed through the clutch of we...

Stallone still packs punch with Rocky fans ahead of new filmPHILADELPHIA — There’s a scene in “Creed” where the latest brash boxer who challenges the upstart protege of Rocky Balboa barks, “No one cares about Balboa anymore!” Yo, through 40 years of Rocky as an underdog, champion, and aging, widowed fighter, fans sure do care. Dressed in robes, fedora hats and even boxing boots, the costumed enthusiasts chanting “Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!” on Friday had one more reason to cheer for Philadelphia’s favorite f...